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NWRG: Groundwater Resource Protection

Groundwater plays a vital role around the world in providing water to drink, for industry and for maintaining a healthy environment.

It contributes more than 98% of the planet’s available freshwater resource but remains poorly understood and undervalued. As a result it is often subject to poor management and inadequate protection, and this has led to unsustainable abstraction and pollution.

In some places this has resulted in irreversible damage. Elsewhere, the resource remains extremely vulnerable to a range of pressures and effective governance is critical if the resource is to managed and protected to meet our current needs and those of future generations.

This talk will highlight the importance of groundwater around the world and the pressures that are putting this precious resource at risk. In particular it will look at the effects of population growth and increasing demand for water, the impacts of pollution and future risks to water quality, and how climate change might impact on groundwater resources.

It will draw on examples of work being carried out by the British Geological Survey and its research partners specifically addressing these issues, and also consider what actions are being taken, or need to be taken, to better manage and protect groundwater.

Speaker

Prof Rob Ward is the Director of Groundwater Science at the BGS. He is a hydrogeologist with over 25 years experience working in both groundwater science and environmental regulation.

Prior to 2010 he was a Senior Technical Advisor at the Environment Agency and was responsible for delivering the groundwater elements of the European Water Framework Directive for the first River Basin Management Plans and supporting UK Government during negotiations on the Groundwater Directive.